If there is one player who made Tom Izzo what he is today, it is Mateen Cleaves. And, if there is one player who personifies what Michigan State has become with Izzo at the helm, it is Cleaves.
Cleaves arrived and played all four years in East Lansing. His scoring average peaked as a sophomore then actually went down as he shepherded younger teammates. He was named the most outstanding player in the 2000 Final Four, steering Izzo to his first and only national championship.
Cleaves just missed out on being a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, survived six undistinguished seasons in the league (10 career starts) and now is remembered as a tremendous winner in college who turned the key on Izzo’s coaching ignition.
“He gets really good players and he knows how to coach ’em up,’’ Cleaves told The Post on Thursday courtside at the Garden. “That’s what stands out to me. That’s what separates him from a lot of coaches.’’
Sure enough, Izzo gets a load of really good players but rarely, if ever, does he get one of those breathlessly coveted high school stars destined to use college as a brief stopover for one requisite year before hitting the NBA. It’s not that Izzo stands on any moral high ground here, it just doesn’t ever seem to work out that way with the Spartans.
“They went after [Duke freshman] Jabari Parker hard,’’ said Cleaves, who works as a college basketball analyst for CBS Sports Network and remains very close to Izzo and the Michigan State program. “I don’t think he’s opposed to recruiting the one-and-dones or the top, top talent guys. I think he just goes after the guys he feels can have the most success in his system. Those are the guys he recruits.’’
This year’s Spartans are very much a classic Izzo team, the No. 4 seed in the East Region, set to take on No. 1-seed Virginia on Friday night in the first NCAA Tournament game in the Garden in 53 years. The Spartans (28-8) start two seniors, a junior and two sophomores, an old-fashioned blend featuring players who rose up through the ranks of the program.
Izzo, 59, is 467-186 in 19 years at Michigan State. He’s taken the Spartans to six Final Fours, been in the NCAA Tournament 17 consecutive years, won the national title during the 1999-2000 season, won seven Big Ten championships and made it to the Elite Eight seven times. This is his 12th appearance in the Sweet 16.
Given the way he brings players along and does not rework his team every year with freshman sensations, Izzo might be the best coach in college basketball as far as assembling a roster and coaxing his team to great achievement.
Everyone believes in Izzo, especially this time of year. Magic Johnson has said, “He’s the best in the nation when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.’’ Heck, President Obama picked Michigan State to win the title when he filled out his 2014 bracket.
Does the commander-in-chief picking you add to the pressure?
“You know, I’d have to say a little bit,’’ Izzo said, smiling after putting the Spartans through a brief workout.
Since his first Michigan State team in 1996, Izzo has sent only one player into the NBA Draft as a lottery pick — Jason Richardson in 2001. He might send two this year in 6-foot-10 senior Adreian Payne and Gary Harris, a sophomore guard.
Remarkably, no player who made it to his senior year for Izzo has missed out on making the Final Four. Keith Appling, a senior guard whose season, and shooting touch, have been slowed by a right wrist injury, said, “There’s no tomorrow for us.’’ But he is not dwelling on the history of the seniors and the Final Four mandate. Payne is more revealing.
“I definitely think about it all the time,’’ said Payne, who leads the Spartans in scoring (16.6 points) and rebounding (7.3). “I pray about it every night.’’
Izzo’s teams always have a prayer, which is why he’s a hot commodity. The NBA has sent feelers out to him in the past. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, a Michigan State alum, wanted, but didn’t land, Izzo in 2010. Pistons owner Tom Gores, another Michigan State alum, needs a new head coach, with Maurice Cheeks fired during this season, leading to speculation Izzo could stay in state and make the jump to the NBA with Detroit. Money, of course, would be an attraction, although Izzo does earn around $3.7 million a year from Michigan State.
“I tell ’em there’s rumors about them, too,’’ Izzo said of discussing the NBA murmurs with his team. “People used to use it against us in recruiting, and most of those schools have gone through three coaches now and I’m still here. I don’t really address it with them. Probably half of ’em would say ‘Good’ and the other half would say ‘Draft me.’ ”